This week has been a massive one for AEW on YouTube, with six new episodes, including one hungee debut and the epic opening round of the women’s eliminator tournament. Read on for the full February 16 Dark recap, plus weecaps on all the other YouTube happenings.
Last time on Dark…
The Nightmare Family showed off new inductees Nick Comoroto and Aaron Solow. The Acclaimed dropped their greatest MV yet, “a ding ding”. Shawn Dean introduced new tag team partner Carlie Bravo. Catch up in our February 9 recap.
Joshi diversion
In preparation for the women’s eliminator tournament, I did a bit of brushing up on my joshi knowledge.
Four of the women (plus Hikaru Shida and Riho) showed up in a trios match at Double or Nothing way back in 2019, and Dailymotion has the match, if you missed it. Check out Yuka Sakazaki and Riho versus Penelope Ford and Britt Baker for a joshi blast from Dark’s pre-corona past too!
Gatoh Move is an indie promotion in Japan that since the pandemic has kicked off a punkish YouTube show called ChocoPro, which streams several hours of wacky comedy wrestling each week. Episode 89 featured 水波綾 Ryo “Aniki” Mizunami, さくらえみ Emi Sakura, 駿河メイ Mei “Apple Girl” Suruga and 朱崇花 ASUKA/VENY in action, with our own AEW champ Shida showing up to guest referee. It was a fun episode, as was their season 5 finale episode 90 with more Ryo, Mei and Emi.
TJPW talents 坂崎ユカ Yuka Sakazaki and 伊藤麻希 Maki Itoh haven’t shown up on ChocoPro, but you can still catch a few of their matches for free on the TJPW YouTube page. Itoh, being the most viral star announced for the tournament, also has a half-hour fan documentary doing the rounds, which is a good introduction to her story.
Rounding out the bracket, アジャコング Aja Kong is well-known in the west. 門倉凛 Rin Kadokura is a bit of a mystery, but put her kanji name into the YouTube search and you’ll find a bunch of stuff.
Of course, back in AEW the eliminator tournament first round was fantastic. Go check it out if you didn’t yet, then come on back to our Dark nook.
Elsewhere in the AEW Arcadia…
Huzzah! We have a new writer for Dynamite! Welcome Robert, who recapped last week’s episode. It was a great one to start on, with lots of meat for the midcard and undercard fans. The most important Dark-related story development was Lee Johnson getting his first win, paired with Cody Rhodes (who else?) He then cut a promo brown-nosing EVP Cody and completely ignoring trainer QT Marshall, which may have consequences! Cue dramatic music.
Being The Elite episode 243 featured Chaos Project, mistaken by John Silver and Alex Reynolds for Darby Allin and Sting. Luther proceeds to very poorly sing Sting’s hit song with “U2”, “Roseanne”. The rest of the Dark Order have an epic kung fu dubbed giant robot slash karate kid fight with the Speaking Spanglish squad. We get a bunch of jobbers TikTok dancing to Vickie Guerrero’s entrance music too. This is a fun episode and a return to form for the show.
Sammy Guevara’s vlog episode 307 opens with a clapback at the fans who believe dirt sheet rumors. The episode is packed full of rapid fire sketches featuring pretty much all of our favorite Dark talent. It’s too much to cover in just one paragraph, so just go check it out. The main storyline advanced is Fuego del Sol/QT Marshall, who now have a match scheduled for March at the Nightmare Factory.
Kip Sabian loved it up with Sammy again on The Kip and Sammy Show (episode 6), with Varsity Blondes as guests. Their production team has rocketed the AEW green screen to the moon! Brandon Cutler toiling away in the BTE salt mines should take note. Ricky Starks shows up to give us a weather report.
In more proof that wrestlers are just huge nerds with muscles, John Silver has started a show, The Silver Screen, where he (with friends) performs famous scenes from movies. This week, it’s Anchorman. I suspect the success of these theater kid antics will depend a lot on how much people enjoyed the movie in the first place.
In all, it’s been an awesome week in AEW YouTube. Let’s see how it all continues in episode 75.
Dim the lights, it’s time for Dark.
BOTCH: Jon Mediocrity
Dark opens this week with Jon Moxley! He’s fighting the lesser Jon – “Definitely Not Serpentico” Cruz. Does Cruz get entrance music? Nope. Sigh.
Cruz gets a little bit of offense in, but this is squash city. I just don’t understand the appeal of Mox. Glad he rarely shows up on Dark.
POP: At least it was a spot fest
Let’s see if Serpentico can kick some ass with his mask on. He’s back with the other half of Chaos Project, Luther, facing indie brawlers Bear Country!
Well, it’s certainly a lot more fun watching him lose to these guys. Serpentico bounces off the ropes and goes for a flying crossbody, and just glances off the immovable Boulder. Bronson comes in next and stretches out the poor luchador. But Luther comes to his rescue! Hooray!
Then Luther switches out to using our hapless hero’s head as a battering ram. Chaos Project have the upper hand for a while till Boulder gets the hot tag and continues smashing Serpentico to bits. Bronson returns to the ring in time to pile-drive Serpentico’s skull into Luther’s! What kind of offense!
Serpentico takes the pin after eating a double team splash. Brutal!
BOTCH: Squash it like it’s hot
Next up, we got some more Bs! The Butcher, The Blade and The Bunny have showed up to face jobber duo Jake St Patrick and Sage Scott. I think it’s Scott’s AEW debut, but they get a jobber entrance too and the Bs dismantle him before the bell even rang.
By the time the bell does ring, St Patrick is already flat on the canvas looking at the stars. He eventually makes it back to his corner to tag Scott, who gets fully clobbered by The Blade, then The Butcher, and then it’s over. Like. Meh.
It’s cool to see The Butcher and The Blade presented as a ruthless, unstoppable force, but it doesn’t make for entertaining watching when they’re just killing people who we don’t even know who they are. Jake St Patrick has been done dirty through several episodes now, and his buddy Sage Scott looks to be following suit. You gotta give us something, here.
MEH: New gear, same lethargy
I made this gear for all of you. My fans. I listened to your requests. I wanted to thank you for your support over the years. 🙏❤️ I hope you like it as much as I like wearing it. #aewdark pic.twitter.com/CVUgK4LbOI
— Shanna シャナ (@Shannanjii) February 17, 2021
Shanna has some new ring gear this week, and she’s facing Renee Michelle. Michelle has been working Impact and the indies recently, and was also featured in the Mae Young Classic back in 2017, where she lost to Candice LeRae. She doesn’t get any entrance music for her AEW debut either.
She does get Shanna in a wrist lock to start it out. These two wrestlers both play it pretty straight, working through a solid set of whips and holds and throws. Shanna unleashes her strikes and then it’s a quick run to an awkward suplex for the finish.
I’m not sure if it’s the people she’s facing or what, but Shanna seems to be lacking some of the urgency and style that she had when AEW debuted. I really want to POP for her matches, but they’re just not working for me. After the top-notch action coming out of the Warabi Wrestle Budokan earlier in the week, this didn’t really wow me.
POP: An indie team reunited
Let’s see if Dark Order’s Alex “3” Reynolds and John “4” Silver can turn it around. They’re facing another no-entrance jobber duo.
Back story time: Eric James used to be known as EJ Risk, and he tagged together with VSK in the New York indies till a neck injury took him out for a few years. He’s back now, though, and looking good in cheerful teal trunks alongside former partner who moonlights as mechanic of the Rocinante, VSK.
No one on this earth is funnier to us, than us. Also we’re really good at wrestling @EricJames1988 pic.twitter.com/4iXFgb4Nl8
— VsK (@isThatVsK) February 17, 2021
EJ starts it with Reynolds, who quickly tags in Silver to set up a cool double-team maneuver. Silver goes coast to coast and sends the New Yorker flying with a solid tackle. But then he strays a little too close to the corner and VSK punches him square in the jaw, then EJ hits the bicycle kick and stunner! Wow! These dudes are hot!
VSK gets a few shots in on Silver before Reynolds comes out with some quick strikes. The Dark Order hit their Dark Destroyer for the win. This fast, explosive outing gets the episode back on track.
POP: Blink and you’ll miss it
What’s that? Is it Tarzan Boy? Oh yes, it’s Jurassic Express time! Luchasaurus is still in a bad mood after having his horns cut off by FTR on Dynamite a few weeks back. Already in the ring is Dark mainstay “The Empbruh” Baron Black and occasional jobber John Skyler.
Jungle Boy opens it for the Express and quickly wipes out Black. The Empbruh tags out to Skyler, who is immediately taken out by a big jurassic boot from the dino. He crawls back to Black, who returns to get question mark kicked in the face. Now Jungle Boy is back, now Skyler – this is blindingly fast action that even Excalibur gave up on trying to call.
Baron Black eats the pin, in a match which perhaps only took about 30 seconds, but every single moment was action-packed! That’s how you squash!
POP: Wrestling compressed to its essence
Next up we have Tay Conti versus Vertvixen. Unfortunately we don’t get to hear Vertvixen’s cool synthpop entrance music because fuck these jobbers, right?
Conti takes Vertvixen down in the juji gatame armlock, Vixen reverses, then it’s Conti again with her triple seoi nage throws. She follows it with a stiff heel to the face and poses for the cameras. Vertvixen heads outside and almost coaxes Conti into attacking her buddy Anna Jay before coming back into the ring and firing off some strong kicks of her own.
Conti hits back then quickly negotiates Vertvixen into a choke, to get the submission victory. This was another crazy short match, but it had a bit of everything and is my match of the night!
Give me @VertVixen every week please … she is such a good one. Much respect ✊
— TAYNARA MELO (@TayConti_) February 17, 2021
POP: Decent midcard battlin’
Next up is grumpy dude Eddie Kingston versus newly-minted Nightmare Family member who didn’t even get to share in partner Big Shotty’s first AEW win, Aaron Solow.
Kingston and Solow lock up, and Solow is first to the mat as Kingston executes a nice side headlock takeover. Solow reverses into a head scissors, then Kingston reaches the ropes. The Californian switches it up by throwing some punches, but that’s Kingston’s domain and he quickly takes our pretty boy down for a bit of heelish punishment.
Solow gets a few nice chances toward the end, and Kingston makes sure to sell his stylish offense, but in the end the spinning backfist gets another W in Kingston’s column.
UMM: One pretty spear
Coming up next, two more pretty boys – “Absolute” Ricky Starks gets a stylish entrance to face already-in-the-ring KC Navarro.
This is like watching Ricky Starks versus younger Ricky Starks! Younger Ricky Starks gets taken out in about 2 seconds with a spear from the elder.
They really pressed for time this episode, huh? Damn.
POP: We love lucha
Let’s hope this match goes a bit longer. Dark mainstay and BTE celeb Brandon Cutler has arrived with full pyro to face LA luchador Misterioso.
Misterioso hits some lucha moves that we haven’t seen enough of this episode, and we got full out tope con hilo action! Cutler comes back with some springboard offense and his long distance leg drop. Misterioso with the drop kick! Misterioso with the moonsault, but Cutler’s feet come up and he strikes back with a roundhouse and enziguri. Topeeee!!! SoCal lucha, ah how I missed ye.
Cutler tries a whole bunch of diving crossbodies and the luchador keeps on kicking out. The match gets messier as it continues, but it’s still pretty fun. Cutler takes it with a springboard elbow drop.
EH: Team Taz, not paid by the hour
Coming up next is Powerhouse Hobbs versus Occult Pro Wrestling Star RYZIN.
Hobbs kills him. The end.
POP: Comoroto looking massive
Come on Fuego del Sol, at least give us 5 minutes of fighting here! He’s already standing in the ring, waiting for berserker guy from Clerks, Nick Comoroto.
Comoroto grabs del Sol’s foot, but he’s too quick! He escapes left, then dodges right, but finally he’s captured: neckbreaker! Forearm! Shoulder tackle! Oop, now the li’l vlog star just got straight up thrown across the ring. This is a massacre!
Comoroto goes for his one-arm press gimmick, but del Sol struggles free and gets a few soft hits in before the monster halts the tornado DDT attempt and powerslams our fave to the ground for the one, two, three.
This episode featured way too much squash. Combined with the new trend of skipping jobber entrances on Dark just makes the matches seem even less important. Why bother putting these in the show, if they’re neither going to be competitive bouts nor build any storylines?
I know I keep banging on about this, but the loss of the entrance music really upsets me. It feels disrespectful to the talent and undermines my suspension of disbelief. When half the wrestlers are treated like little more than punching bags, that’s taking away half of what the show could be! Gosh, if anyone reading has a line to the powers that be at AEW, feel free to whack them with a kendo stick on my behalf. Give the workers the time they deserve!
Anyway, the upcoming Dynamite is packed with main roster stuff. Keep your eyes peeled for Matt Sydal and his debuting yoga bro! Plus there’s Serena Deeb versus Riho! Stay warm, stay safe and I’ll see you back here next week for all the undercard goss.
